The second generation of Honda's flagship maintained the maker's luxury standards, almost matching the quality of Toyota's Lexus badge but retailing at about half the price. Barry Lake reports.

A Legend in its own launch-time

The good: Prestige styling and well-equipped interior. Reliability. Rates well in crash tests.

The bad: Prone to electrical problems. Usual high costs associated with a luxury car.

The verdict: The Legend rates highly in the luxury-per-dollar stakes. The coupe version takes the model well upmarket.

The results: 3.5 stars (out of 5).

Honda has always liked to think of itself as the BMW of Japan, and adding the Legend to the luxury end of its range brought it even closer to that ideal. Perhaps not as sporty as the German models to which it relates in size and performance, the Legend certainly does not lack in luxury.

The second-generation Legend was introduced to Australia in March 1991 and continued through to February 1996, when it was replaced by the third-generation version.

There were few choices to be made. You could order a sedan or a coupe, and that was it. Both came with the 3.2-litre fuel-injected V6 engine and automatic transmission. There were no engine variants and manual transmission was not available.

Even the equipment levels were set - though set to a very high standard.

Whisper-quiet in operation, in answer to the silence of the top-line Lexus, this early-'90s Legend had almost everything you could want in the form of power assistance.

Air-conditioning was standard - which normally wouldn't bear mentioning except that Honda's policy then was not to have air-con as standard in the rest of its range - apparently in a bid to make its prices look competitive.

Power steering was standard too, along with power adjustment for the seats (fore-aft and height), steering wheel, remote central locking, power windows, exterior mirrors, antenna and so on. It is a simple matter to find exactly the right driving position and to have everything adjusted accordingly. Remote central locking is also a feature.

The top-of-the-line sound system has speakers seemingly in every nook and cranny.

In December 1992, Honda introduced a driver's airbag to the Legend and this, along with pyrotechnic seat belt pre-tensioners (which tighten the seat belts in a crash situation) further enhances the car's already high safety standards. It rates near the top of the luxury car tree with the better models from BMW, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz.

Inside the car you find leather upholstery and just a touch of walnut trimming - as has been customary for decades with British-built luxury cars.

Despite the Legend sedan's classy looks, it doesn't have a really striking style. The same can't be said, however, of the two-door Coupe version. This is an outstanding looking car that has a real presence in all but the most exalted automotive company.

Beyond its obvious kinship to the sedan, the Coupe has an 80 mm shorter wheelbase and mostly different body panels.

Both cars have four-wheel independent suspension with unequal length wishbones, which gives both luxury ride and good handling.

A feature unique to the Coupe is the active door closing. Just latch the doors normally and the car's computer instructs the mechanism to pull the doors tightly shut. It gives the large doors a tighter fit, enables the frameless windows to seal completely and, according to Honda, adds to the car's overall rigidity.

The 3.2-litre V6 was all new for this generation of Legends. It was a huge advance on the first generation car's 2.7-litre engine. With a single overhead camshaft per bank of cylinders operating four valves per cylinder, the compact package pumps out 145kW of power and 280Nm of torque.

A big improvement over the previous model, but not the best output for its class, it is still ample for most buyers in this category. It gives brisk acceleration and a decent top speed well in excess of Australian speed limits (other than in the Northern Territory).

Most importantly, it cruises lazily at the speed limit and has impressive fuel consumption for its class in both city and highway driving.

Problems seem mainly confined to failure of electronic systems in power-operated fittings. Air-conditioning can be a source of trouble too, if it hasn't had competent servicing.

Electrical power requirements also seem to make these cars hard on the car's main battery.

Brake master cylinders have been known to leak and there are even odd reports of rust problems in some body panels.

The rubber boots sealing the constant-velocity joints in the front driveshafts often split due to too many tight turns while parking. This can lead to CV failure due to dust and grit in the joint.

Overall, this Legend in its own lifetime makes luxury motoring relatively affordable.

What to look for:

DriveshaftsCheck the CV-joint rubber boots for splits. If damaged, ensure CV joints do not need replacing.

BrakesLook for signs of leaking fluid around brake master cylinder.

Air-conditioningOperate the climate control air-conditioning to ensure correct functioning.

Power assistanceTry all power-assisted items. This includes windows, mirrors, seat adjustment, etc. Repairs can be costly.